§ 48. Mr. AdleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when his Department last reviewed coastal flood defences.
§ Mr. MacleanThe state of the country's flood defences, both inland and on the coast, is kept under continual review through close contact between my officials and drainage bodies, in particular the National Rivers Authority. The increases in grant provision from £36 million to £54 million for the period 1989–90 to 1992–93 announced following the public expenditure surveys in 1988 and 1989, resulted from our most recent reviews of current and future flood defence needs.
We are currently considering with the National Rivers Authority and local authorities the need for adjustments to current programmes as a result of recent storm events.